Friday, 2 January 2009

400 dead in Gaza: stop the bombing

The “missiles” being loaded onto a truck by “Hamas” who are bombed and killed turn out to be gas cylinders. Gazans are forced to eat grass as UN relief transport runs out of fuel, and gas and electricity is cut off. Water is running out. The numbers of civilian dead are arrived at by excluding all males — if you are boy or man you can be murdered with impunity.

Over 400 are dead. As a proportion of the 1.5 million Gazans, that’s the equivalent of 16,000 British. More than 2,000 have been injured. Hospitals are overwhelmed.

This is life under attack 41 years after Gaza was captured and occupied by Israel.

The last few weeks of the Bush presidency has given Israel a window to carry out its atrocities against a defenceless population weakened by months of a blockade, with the possibility of a ground invasion to follow.

No wonder they were too ashamed to allow in the press. A groundswell of revulsion even within Israel itself has led to a court ruling that they must let the media into Gaza.

It’s thought that, just as they destroyed Al Fateh as a significant fighting force and built up Hamas, Israel now wants to clear the ground of Hamas and let Al Qaeda in. That way the world would be united behind Israel and legitimise all its acts of brutality as it completes the destruction of the Palestinians.

Media Workers Against The War points out: “Israel is in breach of many Geneva Conventions and international laws amounting to war crimes, including, wilful killing, extensive destruction of property not justified by military necessity and collective punishment.”

Doesn’t that make Israel a rogue state?

A demonstration to demand a halt to the bombing is scheduled in London for tomorrow (Saturday 3rd January), 12:30 at Embankment.

“The Israeli airstrikes, and the catastrophic human toll that they caused, challenge those countries that have been and remain complicit, either directly or indirectly, in Israel's violations of international law. That complicity includes those countries knowingly providing the military equipment including warplanes and missiles used in these illegal attacks, as well as those countries who have supported and participated in the siege of Gaza that itself has caused a humanitarian catastrophe.

“I remind all member states of the United Nations that the UN continues to be bound to an independent obligation to protect any civilian population facing massive violations of international humanitarian law - regardless of what country may be responsible for those violations. I call on all Member States, as well as officials and every relevant organ of the United Nations system, to move on an emergency basis not only to condemn Israel's serious violations, but to develop new approaches to providing real protection for the Palestinian people.”

Madam Miaow says ...Just where is glorious peace envoy Tony Blair in all this? Has he visited, yet?Delicious

Maybe now the Palestinians will think twice about electing a terrorist gang to rule their territory. Over the last year hundreds of rockets, fired from civilian areas, have streamed into Israel from the Gaza Strip. There have been no protests from Palestinians that they stop - no anger that Hamas was inviting retaliation from Israel.

Hamas has always intended to sacrifice innocent Palestinians because they know how folks like yourself will react. That is what is most tragic here. Your hatred of Israel in some ways can be understood. Your unwillingness to demand from Palestinians the same civility you demand from Israelis promises that peace will never become a reality.

Shane, I'm not sure you are actually reading what's been written here in my two posts.

Over the last year hundreds of rockets, fired from civilian areas, have streamed into Israel from the Gaza Strip.

During the same period, how many Palestinians have been killed? Since the 2005 withdrawal, 1,400. How many Israelis? Nine. Now that Hamas has started to fire deeper into Israeli territory in the last week, we can see how symbolic those pathetic rocket attacks were.

BTW, I want to make it clear that I am no fan of Hamas. Firing at civilians is wrong. They should stop. It's a mark of desperation on the part of a displaced nation that Hamas is seen as the only force that can defend them from Israel's depredatons.

41 years ago, 750,000 human beings were kicked off their land by Zionist terrorists, Irgun and the Stern Gang with British connivance. That's an important part of the region's history to know about.

Palestinians should not be paying the price for crimes against the Jews in Europe.

I'm interested by the fact that many Israelis themselves are protesting about the vicious attacks by their own government trying to play hard man with an election looming.

Reaching for my Gnu

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